Springfield Arts Commission – Heritage Arts Grant Award Recipient Exhibitions in Celebration of Earth Day
The Springfield Arts Commission is pleased to announce two exhibitions from Heritage Arts Grant award recipients, Helen Liu and Barbara Counsil. Both exhibitions celebrate environmentally informed artwork and will be on display around Earth Day (April 22) in Downtown Springfield.
Using unconventional materials, Helen Liu created a large-scale quilt built with non-recyclable plastic waste. Her collaborative project invited participants from the community to create quilt pieces using their own collection of potato chip, coffee, animal food, and candy bags commonly discarded in house-hold trash. Helen Liu stitched and taped the community of pieces together transforming reclaimed waste into a work of art. The Plastic Waste Quilt will go on display on the exterior walls of the Academy of Arts & Academics (615 Main Street).
Barbara Counsil’s Land as Deity exhibition includes landscape paintings inside altars honoring protected public land. Her project involves an interactive art installation bringing the intangible landscape into urban environments. The exhibition is on view at the Emerald Art Center (500 Main Street) through April 30. The artist will be hosting a virtual artist talk at 6 p.m., Earth Day, April 22.
Springfield Arts Commission Heritage Arts Grant supports a wide range of projects crafted by the community.
“These ambitious exhibitions are designed to encourage visitors to engage with the art in unique and meaningful ways,” said Melissa Green, Springfield Arts commissioner and chair of the Heritage Arts Grant committee. “It is always exciting to see artists promoting a collaborative connection to our natural resources through creative forms and we hope the community has a chance to visit the work on view in celebration of Earth Day.”
“It is always exciting to see artists promoting a collaborative connection to our natural resources through creative forms and we hope the community has a chance to visit the work on view in celebration of Earth Day.”
- Where: Emerald Art Center (500 Main Street) & Academy of Arts & Academics (615 Main Street) Springfield OR
- Additional information: Springfield Arts Commission Liaison Amy Orre, 541.726.2246, aorre@spring-fieldor.gov
